Dispatcher, father work together to deliver baby

Published: Friday, November 30, 2012 at 02:34 PM.

WILLIAMS HAS BEEN a telecommunicator for nine years, though she said Monday marked the first time she’s talked anyone through a baby’s birth.

“When he said the water had broke, that’s
nev
er a good sign,” she said of Mabe’s call. “I knew immediately birth was close. The baby was coming, he wasn’t waiting for anyone.”

Williams said she was nervous, but worked to maintain her composure, realizing if she let her nerves get the best of her it’d surely be reflected in her voice. She turned to the Emergency Medical Dispatch for help. That’s a software system that telecommunicators have at the ready that helps them assist
ind
ividuals through almost any emergency – a home birth included. It prompts telecommunicators to ask the appropriate questions and provide assistance.

Williams has three children of her own – the youngest being 17. She said having gone through labor and
del
ivery was a bonus when it came to advising Mabe on what he should do.

“Experience is everything,” Williams said.

One of the first things she advised Mabe to do was get Martin on a bed and get as many clean towels as he could find as well as a blanket. Mabe put the call on speaker phone and went to work. Williams advised him on how to hold the baby’s head, then body, to be sure and not let the baby slip.

GRAHAM - Scotty Mabe called 911 early Monday after his fiancée, Fallon Martin, woke him in both labor and pain.

While Mabe was talking to the 911 telecommunicator in Graham, Martin gave him some scary news.

“Oh, my God,” she said, “my water just broke.”

Mabe passed along this information to Pam Williams, the telecommunicator with Alamance County Central Communications with whom he was speaking. She told him to see if the baby’s head was crowning – meaning showing in the birth canal.

Mabe took a look. Sure enough, it was.

“You’re going to have to be the one to do the delivery,” Williams quickly informed him.

All’s well that ends well and this story has a happy ending. Thanks in large part to the advice Williams provided over the phone, KalebCole Mabe entered the world a healthy 8 lbs., 14 oz. – blessed with a fine set of lungs and lots more. Mother and newborn were released from AlamanceRegionalMedicalCenter on Wednesday.

“I tried to stay as calm as I could,” Mabe said. “(Williams) was a big help.”

For the record, Monday marked the first time Mabe, 37, a home improvement specialist by trade, has delivered a baby.

He said Martin, 28, awakened him in pain about 5:15 a.m. Monday. The couple’s baby was due the previous Friday, so they realized the birth was imminent. They just didn’t expect baby Kaleb to arrive as quickly as he did.

Mabe placed the call to 911 at 5:41 a.m. Kaleb entered the world at 6:02 a.m.

Part of the reason Mabe had to deliver his son owes to the location of where the family lives – off UnionRidge Road. Mabe said the house is in northern AlamanceCounty, but most of their land is in CaswellCounty. Telecommunicators said the address is technically in CaswellCounty. Mabe placed the 911 call on his cell phone and the signal bounced off an AlamanceCounty tower, sending it to Graham.

Williams said it didn’t take her long to decide there wasn’t enough time to transfer the call to CaswellCounty 911, something she would have done if there hadn’t been a crisis. She kept Mabe on the line while fellow telecommunicators – Sharon Galan was a particular help, Williams said – got emergency assistance on the way.

CaswellCountyEmergency Medical Services was alerted and sent an ambulance. Firefighters and EMT’s from AlamanceCounty’s North Central station were dispatched and were the first medical responders to arrive, Kaleb entering the world a few minutes before they pulled in the driveway.

WILLIAMS HAS BEEN a telecommunicator for nine years, though she said Monday marked the first time she’s talked anyone through a baby’s birth.

“When he said the water had broke, that’s never a good sign,” she said of Mabe’s call. “I knew immediately birth was close. The baby was coming, he wasn’t waiting for anyone.”

Williams said she was nervous, but worked to maintain her composure, realizing if she let her nerves get the best of her it’d surely be reflected in her voice. She turned to the Emergency Medical Dispatch for help. That’s a software system that telecommunicators have at the ready that helps them assist individuals through almost any emergency – a home birth included. It prompts telecommunicators to ask the appropriate questions and provide assistance.

Williams has three children of her own – the youngest being 17. She said having gone through labor and delivery was a bonus when it came to advising Mabe on what he should do.

“Experience is everything,” Williams said.

One of the first things she advised Mabe to do was get Martin on a bed and get as many clean towels as he could find as well as a blanket. Mabe put the call on speaker phone and went to work. Williams advised him on how to hold the baby’s head, then body, to be sure and not let the baby slip.

Williams said one of the biggest risks surrounding any birth is if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck. Fortunately, there were no such problems with Kaleb.

Williams said after the baby was born, she instructed Mabe to clean him and wrap him in a blanket with his mother. Within a few minutes, medical responders were there. Kaleb and his mother were transported to the hospital by workers with CaswellCountyEMS.

“I congratulated him,” Williams said of one of the last things she said to Mabe before their call was disconnected. “I wished them well.”

Mabe, Martin and Kaleb stopped by the offices of Central Communications on Wednesday on the way home from the hospital. Everyone shared a hug. Mabe and Martin wanted a copy of the 911 call Mabe placed. Kaleb will surely one day reach the age he’ll be interested in having a listen.

Between them, Mabe and Martin have six children – the others ranging in age from 2 to 15. The couple said they plan to marry next June 7 on Mabe’s birthday.

David Leonard is AlamanceCounty’s emergency management director. He said Williams’ handling of the situation is a credit to her and her fellow telecommunicators as well as the instruction they receive under Dexter Brower, the county’s director of Central Communications.